TCU slaps All-Big 12 DE Devonte Fields with two-game suspension

Posted by John Taylor on May 15, 2013, 12:14 PM EST

AP

This one will leave a mark.

In a very brief press release late Wednesday morning, TCU announced that defensive end Devonte Fields has been suspended for the first two games of the 2013 season. The reason? “Violation of university and team policy” the release stated.

There was no comment from head coach Gary Patterson on his decision attached to the release, and no details on what led to the suspension were divulged.

Due to the suspension, Fields will miss the season opener against LSU in Arlington Aug. 31. He’ll also miss the Sept. 7 home opener against Southeastern Louisiana.

Suffice to say, Fields’ absence, especially against the run-heavy Bayou Bengals, is a significant blow. In 2012, Fields was named by the coaches as the Big 12’s Freshman Defensive Player of the Year while the Associated Press selected him as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Fields started all 13 games last season, leading the Horned Frogs in tackles for loss (18.5) and sacks (10). He was first in the Big 12 at 1.42 tackles for loss per game and third in the league with 0.77 sacks per game

Here we go again. I wish these coaches would find another way to punish these kids instead of having some of your best players out of the game because then you just don’t know who is the best when you are missing players that way.

TCU will still do well, and probably win, against LSU for the simple reason that TCU focuses on team, team , team. Only TCU could have gone bowling after everything that happened to them in the last off-season, and once again Coach Patterson’s focus on the entire team will keep the team strong.

TCU and its emphasis on team helps define them as a constantly strong football power. TCU is the antithesis of so many other big SEC, Big 10 and other “power conference” teams that feature star players that are simply using their team as a ladder to the NFL.

And on top of all that, Horned Frogs can spit blood across the room and blind their opponents – let’s see some cuddly LSU Tiger do THAT!